PTSD Cure Found in an Injection

Dr. Eugene Lipov, medical director of Advanced Pain Centers in Chicago, director of pain research at Northwest Community Hospital and medical director of Chicago Medical Innovations thinks he’s landed on what could be the “cure” for PTSD. Just prep your neck, hold tight for 15 minutes while they inject your stellate ganglion (I’ll explain in a moment), and your nightmares may just go away.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, otherwise known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that typically follows exposure to a traumatic event such as combat, disaster or assault. Symptoms include nightmares, jumpiness, paranoia, irritability and aggressiveness. It is often accompanied by depression, substance abuse or other anxiety disorders.

The treatment for PTSD varies but usually consists of counseling, medication, and different forms of therapy. There has not historically been a “cure all” for PTSD. In many cases, a common treatment is the over-prescribing of antidepressants and other medications, thus creating a dependency on pills.

A “cure-all” for PTSD – in the form of an injection – is certainly an attraction – but not all are believers, just yet. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. First the stellate ganglion.

Thanks to the medical journal, I now know what the Stellate Ganglion is: The stellate ganglion is a collection of nerves in the neck that are connected to various parts of the brain, including the amygdala, which are thought to be associated with PTSD. Dr. Lipov believes a shot into this area with their treatment called Stellate ganglion block (SGB) is the cure.

The injection, which takes approximately 15 minutes to administer, has reportedly led to dramatic improvements in some veterans who suffer from PTS disorder. Some in the study have reported relief from PTS symptoms in as little as 30 minutes after having been administered the treatment.

According to an article by Alex Crees, Lipov has received a waiver from the FDA to perform SGB and is currently recruiting participants for a clinical trial. SGB, which has also been used in the past to treat depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, and other mental health disorders, is not backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for treating PTSD in soldiers. (Not yet believers.)

The verdict on program effectiveness is not yet settled. And without funding, which Dr. Lipov says is needed, the true results may never come to the surface.

Bottom line: New ways to combat PTSD are evolving. In addition to Dr. Lipov, Dr. John Parrish, war veteran, former department head at Harvard Medical School and author of a book called Autopsy of War, which chronicles his four-decade battle with PTSD, is also working toward a solution with his staff at CIMIT, Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology. Here’s hoping it is only a matter of time.

“When there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” – John Maxwell.